Netherlands / Worthy News

by Stefan J. Bos, Worthy News Europe Bureau Chief, reporting from the Netherlands

AMSTERDAM (Worthy News) – A Dutch court has sentenced the father and two brothers of 18-year-old Ryan Al Najjar to decades-long prison terms for killing the young woman because she allegedly “dishonored” their strict Islamic family.

Ryan’s body was found at the end of May last year in the Oostvaardersplassen, a vast nature reserve in the central Netherlands, about 40 kilometers (25 miles) east of Amsterdam.

Court documents said she had been tied up and thrown alive into the water.

The three-judge panel at the Lelystad court ruled that her father and brothers killed her because she had “dishonored” the family by adopting what judges described as “Western behaviors.”

COURT HANDING HEAVY SENTENCES

The father, 53-year-old Khaled Al Najjar, received the heaviest sentence of 30 years in prison—five years more than prosecutors had requested.

Judges said he played a leading role in killing his daughter, who had been living in Joure, about 120 kilometers (75 miles) northeast of Amsterdam.

Al Najjar was tried in absentia after fleeing the Netherlands following the murder. He remains in his native Syria despite an international arrest warrant.

Ryan’s two brothers, aged 23 and 25, were each sentenced to 20 years in prison, matching the prosecution’s request.

BROTHERS FOUND COMPLICIT IN KILLING

According to court records, the brothers ensured that Ryan arrived at the Oostvaardersplassen, fully aware that their father intended to kill her. “It is a parent’s job to support their child and allow them to flourish. Khaled did the opposite,” the court said.

Prosecutors argued—and the judges agreed—that all three were guilty of complicity, making them equally responsible for Ryan’s death regardless of their individual actions in the final moments.

The court also cited clear premeditation, stating the family intended “to erase any trace of her existence.” None of the suspects attempted to contact Ryan afterward, reinforcing the conclusion that they knew she was already dead.

As he was escorted from the courtroom to a holding facility, one of the brothers, Muhanad Al N., shouted, “I will clear my name!” indicating an appeal is likely.

CASE FUELS BROADER DUTCH DEBATE

The Public Prosecution Service said the strictly Islamic family was already known to police before the murder took place.

While the father remains at large, his sons are being held in custody in the Netherlands.

The case has intensified an ongoing national debate over Muslim immigration, integration, and radicalization in the Netherlands, a non-Islamic country historically shaped by Christian traditions.

According to the Dutch Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS), around one million people—roughly 5 to 6 percent of the population—identify as Muslim in the Netherlands, making Islam the country’s second-largest religion after Christianity.

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